Category: Transdiagnostic
Natasha Bailen, M.A., Ph.D.
Boston University Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders
Brookline, Massachusetts
Todd Farchione, Ph.D.
Research Associate Professor
Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts
Clarissa Ong, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Boston University
Somerville, Massachusetts
Abigail Barthel, M.A.
Clinical Psychology Doctoral Candidate
Boston University Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders
Allston, Massachusetts
Natasha Bailen, M.A., Ph.D.
Boston University Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders
Brookline, Massachusetts
Daniella Spencer-Laitt, M.S.
Doctoral Student
Boston University Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders
Boston, Massachusetts
Our reactions to our own negative and aversive internal experiences affect all areas of our lives, as they influence how we perceive and interact with the world around us. This talk explores how inflexible, intolerant, and non-accepting reactions to emotions can impact wellbeing, clinical outcomes, and emotional experiences themselves, and shows how dysregulated emotions can be targeted directly through psychological intervention.
The first two papers focus on psychological inflexibility, or the tendency to make rigid attempts to control aversive internal experiences (e.g., Kashdan & Rottenberg, 2010), and its associations with psychological wellbeing, emotions, and stress. In Study 1, an extensive meta-analysis of prior literature is conducted to establish the relationship between psychological inflexibility and wellbeing, and identifies possible moderators of that relationship. Study 2 presents novel ecological momentary data, collected five times per day across two weeks, that assesses fluctuations in emotion inflexibility across contexts and examines dynamic associations with emotion, stress, and behavior over time.
Study 3 focuses on two other ways of reacting negatively to one's own emotions-- through distress aversion and emotional non-acceptance. The paper shows that these constructs are associated with symptom impairment across a large clinical sample and are elevated in those presenting with a common diagnostic comorbidity compared to either diagnosis alone.
Study 4 examines outcomes of the Unified Protocol (UP), an evidence-based transdiagnostic CBT protocol that targets emotional avoidance and distress intolerance (Farchione et al., 2012). This paper examines how specific positive and negative emotional states change from the beginning to the end of UP treatment.
Finally, Dr. Todd Farchione, one of the original developers of the UP, whose research focuses on understanding transdiagnostic emotion regulation processes and using this knowledge to inform treatments for emotional disorders, will discuss clinical implications of the findings and considerations for future research.
Presenter: Clarissa Ong, Ph.D. – Boston University
Co-author: Abigail L. Barthel, M.A. – Boston University Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders
Co-author: Stefan G. Hofmann, Ph.D. – Boston University
Presenter: Abigail L. Barthel, M.A. – Boston University Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders
Co-author: Stefan G. Hofmann, Ph.D. – Boston University
Presenter: Natasha H. Bailen, M.A., Ph.D. – Boston University Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders
Co-author: Anthony J. Rosellini, PhD – Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University
Co-author: Christina Galiano, MA – Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University
Co-author: Timothy A. Brown, PsyD – Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University
Presenter: Brittany A. Jaso, Ph.D. – Boston University Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders
Co-author: Nicole D. Cardona, M.A. – Boston University
Co-author: Elizabeth H. Eustis, Ph.D. – Boston University Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders
Co-author: Madison Boschulte, PhD – Boston University
Co-author: Todd J. Farchione, Ph.D. – Boston University
Co-author: David H. Barlow, ABPP, Ph.D. – Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Boston University